Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt apologised to Savile’s hundreds of victims and admitted they had all been “let down badly.”

Mr Hunt told MPs: “I know this House, indeed the whole country, will share a deep sense of revulsion at what the investigations revealed.

“A litany of disturbing accounts of rape and sexual abuse committed by Savile on vulnerable children and adults over a period of decades.

“At the time the victims who spoke up were not believed and it’s important today that we all publicly recognise the truth of what they have said.”

He added: “But it is a profoundly uncomfortable truth.

“As a nation at that time we held Savile in our affection as a somewhat eccentric national treasure with a strong commitment to charitable causes.

“Today’s report says that in reality he was a sickening and prolific sexual abuser who repeatedly exploited the trust of a nation for his own vile purposes.”

Mr Hunt said the revelations painted a “terrible picture” of victims being repeatedly ignored as people and institutions “turned a blind eye”.

He told MPs: “Today’s reports will shake this House and our country to the core.

“Savile was a callous, opportunistic, wicked predator who abused and raped individuals, many of them patients and young people who expected and had a right to expect to be safe.

“His actions span five decades, from the 1960s to 2010.

“The family favourite loved by millions courted popularity and used it to perpetrate and cover up his own evil acts.”

Jimmy Savile’s victims could now receive compensation from the taxpayer for the abuse which occurred in NHS hospitals, Mr Hunt said.

Savile’s estate is to be used by the authorities to offer financial recompense to his victims but if the money left in his will runs out, the government will step in.

Savile’s estate is worth an reported £3.3million. A High Court ruling earlier this year said victims could make claims worth up to £60,000 from the estate, the NHS or the BBC, where he also abused children in dressing rooms.

Mr Hunt said: “The government will underwrite this so if there are any claims that are not able to be met by the estate we will finance that from the public purse. But we do think the estate is the first place to start, for obvious reasons.”

Many victims, especially the young, were too scared to complain. But those who did were ignored by hospital staff who “didn’t want to hear or believe” what his young victims were saying, investigators discovered.

The charity Victim Support said it has been helping Savile’s direct victims but also those closest to them, who are often troubled by the thought that they were duped by the broadcaster’s celebrity status.

“There are other people, friends and family members who are victims in this as well and are going through a number of feelings,” said Lesley McLean, the charity’s divisional manager for West Yorkshire.

“For example, if they introduced their child, who’s in hospital, vulnerable, to Jimmy Savile thinking that this might be a nice treat for them while they’re in hospital.

“Then the guilt those people have experienced about putting their children through that is huge.”

Peter Watt, national services director at the children’s charity NSPCC, said: “To hear that some hospital staff may have actively facilitated Savile’s abuse of children is sickening and takes the scandal of his crimes to yet another abhorrent level.

“Savile was a manipulative, arrogant and controlling sexual predator who exerted an incredible level of influence and power within these hospitals.

“But it’s clear from these chilling reports that a culture of turning a blind eye to Savile’s abuse of children was almost endemic among some staff at Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor hospital.

“When victims spoke up or staff raised concerns they were dismissed out of hand, allowing Savile to operate in a perverse personal fiefdom within these institutions.

“ It’s hard to believe senior staff could be so blind to what was happening at ward level. And we need to question further how much senior staff actually knew and why they allowed a culture where abuse was ignored to exist.”

Mr Watt added: “Savile escaped justice because people didn’t want to hear or believe what children were saying. Ministers now need to be satisfied that this could never happen again and that children and vulnerable adults in hospitals or any government facility are safe today.

“What we have learned today underlines the importance of full and comprehensive investigations into non-recent abuse cases, because these individuals may still be committing offences today and the loopholes and culture and practice that allowed it to happen may still exist.”

Tracey Storey, of solicitors Irwin Mitchell which is representing some of Savile’s victims, said: “Today’s report confirms what many have feared for a long time, that Jimmy Savile was given inappropriate access to medical facilities, opportunities to stop him abusing were missed and warning signs were ignored.

“The victims have suffered massively because of Savile’s abuse of power. He went unchallenged for so many years and it appears that his actions were an ‘open secret’.

“But we must remember that most victims of abuse were not abused by celebrities and may still struggle to get their voices heard. The most common complaints are from people abused by others in positions of power such as teachers, doctors, youth workers or religious leaders.”

Savile, who died in October 2011 aged 84, gained access to victims at 28 hospitals by posing as a selfless, unpaid volunteer willing to do menial tasks such as portering.

The DJ manipulated and intimidated lower paid works and threatened to get them sacked if he was ever reported.

At Leeds General Infirmary, 60 victims, including 33 patients, came forward give their accounts of what Savile did there since 1960.

Three of the victims were raped by Savile . The Leeds inquiry found 19 of those who came forward were under 16 at the time.

The age range was five to 75. Savile also preyed on female hospital staff and sexually assaulted 19 of them over the years.

Dr Sue Proctor said the report revealed Savile “unwholesome” interest in the dead.

Claims that Savile performed sex acts on corpses and took pictures of them were impossible to verify, said Dr Proctor.

“The bravery of patients and victims in relaying their experiences to the inquiry is to their great credit. We owe it to them to now ensure that their experiences are used to protect patients in the future.

“There have been significant improvements in safeguarding arrangements in the NHS over the last decade.

“These provide many of the systems that will protect patients in the future. These arrangements will only be successful where patients are treated in organisations with an open culture, where the patient voice is always heard and where no-one is presumed to be above the appropriate checks or safeguards in the system.

“Sadly, there are people who will seek to abuse vulnerable children and adults. Every NHS staff member knows this through their safeguarding training and must remain vigilant and raise concerns.

“Through allowing staff to operate in the right culture, with the right support and safeguards, we can and will provide better support for vulnerable patients.”

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